It was unclear Friday whether Palacios Marine & Industrial subscribes to the Workers Compensation Act as well. If the contractor has the coverage, their benefits could provide Formosa an additional shield against legal action, Cole said.

Generally though, contractors have more legal rights than employees. And what can be obtained via workers compensation is severely limited, said John Griffin, a Victoria civil attorney.

Griffin is one of a handful of attorneys that the Calhoun County District Clerk's Office shows is representing at least 20 people who in December 2006 sued Formosa Plastics Corp., a contractor named Fernando Rivero and Rivero's employer, HP Services, after an explosion in the same plant Oct. 6, 2005.

The explosion happened after the trailer Rivero was driving caught on a protruding valve that released flammable gas. The fire burned for five days.

They alleged the defendants were negligent because they failed to provide physically marked, specific travel routes throughout the plant, failed to institute and enforce an adequate safety program and failed to come up with a way to isolate hazardous materials in case of releases, among other things, according to the original petition.

Overall, Griffin stressed Thursday's fire is a different event, with different circumstances.

"Our goal, as anyone's goal should be, is to find out the truth," he said. "What caused this tragedy? What measures could have prevented it?"